McGREGOR SPEEDWAY

   A Hard - To - Find Gem of   
       New York Racing History

Courtesy of Joe Staiger
Joe Staiger uses the Town of Wilton road grader to do the finishing touches on the Mt. McGregor Speedway surface.

     According to a recent conversation with Joe Staiger and from comments made in a Jean Wouterz article about the track some while back, Mt. McGregor Speedway was conceived of at least partly as a protest. Staiger tells of Ed Harran, bringing his #43 car to the already - existing Hudson River Speedway in neighboring Schuylerville. Harran was winning handily every race, and the track [owned by the Garnsey family] decided heh ad to be using an illegal motor.
      As it turned out, Harran simply had the Model B engine, which was stock but an improvement over the prevalent Model A motors. His car was torn down, only to be found legal. Joe Staiger, who was with Harran that day, looked over a piece of land on his family farm. With a borrow3ed bulldozer, a track was carved out, and an ownership group was hammered out.
      Mt. McGregor Speedway lived out a rather challenging two year life, racing a mixture of jalopies, roadsters, and stock cars while being beset by the New York State Police, who used Sunday Blue Laws to stop its race shows. The region was known mostly for the mountain, the Mt. McGregor Correctional Institute, and the President U.S. Grant vacation cottage; but it did host some hot racing for a brief while.

Courtesy of Tom Stover
This is the Rollie Johnson sprint car, after an accident. I think the race was at McGregor. Note the J.R. Earl wrecker.

Courtesy of Tom Stover
Two roadsters and a stock car , in the pits at McGregor.

Courtesy of Joe Staiger Joe Staiger mans the borrowed bulldozer and carves out a turn that was too sharp.	Courtesy of Joe Staiger Supposedly, the opening show at the track. Can't recognize any cars. However, being the same time as Pico Raceway opened, I can't help but think the Jack Barney and Thurlow Woodcock cars are in there.	Courtesy of Joe Staiger Joe Staiger in action on the Hudson River track in Schuylerville.	Courtesy of Joe Staiger Supposedly, the opening show at the track. Can't recognize any cars in this one either.
Courtesy of Joe Staiger Supposedly, the opening show at the track. Seems to be race action in turns 3 and 4.	Les King Photo Courtesy of Gail Moses Remington Al Moses plies the McGregor oval in a roadster - type racer.	Les King Photo Courtesy of Gail Moses Remington Al Moses dumps his a roadster - type racer.	Courtesy of Joe Staiger Joe Staiger, working on his race car.
Courtesy of Joe Staiger Thurlow Woodcock, with his Cadillac roadster. He supposedly won the first heat race ever at Pico Raceway with this car.	Courtesy of Joe Staiger From left - Kenny Staiger, Jack Barney, and Thurlow Woodcock.	Courtesy of Jerry King Jack Barney's 6 at Pico, around a year after McGregor opened.	McDowell Photo Courtesy of CJ Richards Saratoga's Spence Parkhurst became a legend of sorts in 1950's NY racing. He also was in on the ground floor at McGregor.

Les King Photo Courtesy of Joe Staiger
Frank Staiger [left] and Chet Hames pause in front of Harold Kyer's relatively - sophisticated stock car before the start of the next race.
Staiger would be struck by a car in that race and Hames would become the full - time starter at McGregor, perhaps kickstarting his
legendary career.

Courtesy of Joe Staiger
Joe Staiger's family car sits on the completed track. He had made the track on the family farm so that his mother
might make a little money on the concession stand. I wonder if she ever did.

A COLLECTION OF LIKELY McGREGOR COMPETITORS

Courtesy of Ron Hoffer Hank Schmidt, Gansevoort, NY	Courtesy of Joe Staiger Thurlow Woodcock, Saratoga [with his Cadillac roadster].	Courtesy of Joe Staiger Kenny Staiger [at left]	Courtesy of Jerry King Jack Barney's 6 at Pico, around a year after McGregor opened. Below - Jack Barney. Courtesy of Joe Staiger	McDowell Photo Courtesy of CJ Richards Saratoga's Spence Parkhurst was in on the ground floor at McGregor.
Les King Photo Courtesy of Gail Moses Remington Al Moses,  Wilton, NY	Courtesy of Joe Staiger Joe Staiger, who soon had no time to race after moving to New Jersey.	Courtesy of Andy Fusco John "Smokey" Stover" was also a founding racer.	Courtesy of Ron Hoffer Widely - traveled Leo Nadeau was likely an early entrant.	Ladabouche Collection Harold Kyer
Courtesy of Tom Stover Warrensburg car owner Elwin "Brick" Pennock [rt]. It is likely he would have had George Baumgardner driving here.	Courtesy of Tom Stover This is either Max Vrooman [according to Tom Stover] or it also could very well be Red Knoblauch.	Courtesy of Tom Stover This is the same guy with the team tow truck.	Courtesy of Tom Stover This is the team tow truck with probably the owner.	Courtesy of Tom Stover Al Wood, the first track high point man, with Smokey Stover [rt].

Historic Aerials.Com Photo
Traces of McGregor Speedway are still evident in this 1964 aerial view.

Courtesy of Tom Stover A McGregor Speedway points award trophy given to Smokey Stover. Al Wood's would have been similiar.	Courtesy of Tom Stover This is the cigarette case/lighter award that Smokey is seen holding in a photo above.	Courtesy of Tom Stover It appears like McGregor must have had a combo banquet/picnic after their first season.	Courtesy of Tom Stover Al Wood receiving a top points award.	Courtesy of Tom Stover A photo showing many of the participants in the first season at McGregor.
Saratogian Article Courtesy of Tom Stover A McGregor Speedway article that mentions a number of drivers.	Saratogian Article Courtesy of Tom Stover A McGregor Speedway article that features Jake Smero.	Saratogian Article Courtesy of Tom Stover A McGregor Speedway article that mentions a number of drivers.	Saratogian Article Courtesy of Tom Stover A McGregor Speedway article that mentions some different names.	Saratogian Article Courtesy of Tom Stover A McGregor Speedway article that features powder puff racing - a big thing in the 1950's.
Saratogian Article Courtesy of Tom Stover A McGregor Speedway article with Jack Barfney and Smokey Stover.	Saratogian Article Courtesy of Tom Stover A McGregor Speedway article: Stover, Baumgardner, powder puffs and more.	Saratogian Article Courtesy of Tom Stover A McGregor Speedway article featuring Stover.	Saratogian Article Courtesy of Tom Stover A McGregor Speedway article on the track's first race program.	Saratogian Article Courtesy of Tom Stover A McGregor Speedway article: Wood wins first title.

         
Courtesy of Tom Stover
A McGregor Speedway stock share owned by John Smokey Stover.

Courtesy of Leslie Staiger Dussault
A group posing at what was then the go-kart track. Danny Rumpf and George Voekler are in the shot, as well as at least one Staiger.

Via NYMRN Site

       
Courtesy of Leslie Staiger Dussault

   
Courtesy of Tom Stover
Work on a Smokey Stover car [3rd from left in 1st photo]. It is likely too recent to have raced at McGregor.

For an article on the track I did in 2014, click the link below:

http://www.catamountstadium.com/weeklyblog.oct202014_McGregorSpdwy.html

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